2014 Property Assessment

[Regular_John]

Third year we've been in our townhome/condo, year 1 it was 15-20k less than we paid, next year it was pretty much bang on with what we paid, this year it's 25k more than that. Not sure a 44k swing on a 70's townhome is valid, but whatever. I can't be be bothered to dispute it.

[WilsonFourTwo]

House in Crescent Heights is assessed 12% less than I paid in September. Many of the local homes look low (compared to current MLS rates and the one neighbor who bought at the same time as me).

The Condo in Lincoln Park is assessed about 6% less than current MLS Listings and right around what I would expect the value to be. Pretty fair assessment I think.

[WilsonFourTwo]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

Third year we've been in our townhome/condo, year 1 it was 15-20k less than we paid, next year it was pretty much bang on with what we paid, this year it's 25k more than that. Not sure a 44k swing on a 70's townhome is valid, but whatever. I can't be be bothered to dispute it.

The 70's was all about wild swinging.....just sayin'

[red sky]

I closed on my house on June 15th and my assessment came in $12,500 higher than what I paid. Are they suggesting I paid below market value or are they just trying to get more money. I guess in the grand scheme of things it is pretty minor.

[Knut]

Originally Posted by red sky

I closed on my house on June 15th and my assessment came in $12,500 higher than what I paid. Are they suggesting I paid below market value or are they just trying to get more money. I guess in the grand scheme of things it is pretty minor.

Neither.

The market value of your house and the assessed value are different. Your taxes might actually go down with that small of a jump in assessed value.

Your bank would come out and do an assessment for you if you want a more accurate one.

[Calgary14]

I think a fair market value assessment from an independent appraiser would be your best bet if you are looking to appeal your 2014 property assessment.

That along with some data from MLS showing recent comps showing their selling prices would also help

I believe the assessment is based on the July value though so you'd have to try to figure out the value at that point in time

[robaur]

mine is up $40K or +7% from last year. pretty big spike.

[rain_e]

Originally Posted by OurBigFatWallet

I think a fair market value assessment from an independent appraiser would be your best bet if you are looking to appeal your 2014 property assessment.

That along with some data from MLS showing recent comps showing their selling prices would also help

I believe the assessment is based on the July value though so you'd have to try to figure out the value at that point in time

For a private assessment you are going to pay $200-$300. That's a big investment for a chance at a small return. You are better off doing te comparables yourself with neighborhood properties and taking a chance fighting it.

I will be doing it this year for first time. I closed on a house in December and te assessment came in $78000 higher then I paid. if I get it reassessed close to what I paid I believe my tax savings would be a few hundred (less the $30 fee to fight it)

[calgarywinning]

I think you should absolutely appeal. I once knew a city assessor who said they basically throw us much #### to the wall to see what sticks. Most people are complacent in the will to appeal and the process is daunting.

Your recent purchase absolutely sets the market value of your home and you can appeal it based on that.

Also, you can appeal if you have sales data on recent sales in your neighbourhood. The value the city places is arbitrary, actual sales data is not.

For example; my condo is value at 400k by the city in 2014 but they don't sell for more than 380k. Am I appealing? Yes. It's my duty to hold them to fair market value.

Best of luck.

[rain_e]

I'll post results once I'm done the process.

[MoneyGuy]

I'm training to be an ARB member. If you PM me an email address i'll send a sample complaint form to you.

[CubicleGeek]

City assessments are a load of crap. I paid $135K under the assessed value for my place in 2011 (I felt I paid fair market value, maybe a slight deal for the time). The assessed value has dropped about $60K since then which is still high IMO. The good thing is my property taxes have been coming down.

[tvp2003]

^^ The market will determine market value. I used to think having a high city assessment was good. Then I realized it just meant you had to pay more in taxes...

[NuclearPizzaMan]

My property tax has varied from as much as 60k less than what it was in 2008 to 30k above in 4 years. I assume they just throw a stack of deeds down the stairs, more stairs traveled equals bigger increase.

[Calgary14]

A realtor told me once that sometimes the assessed values are close to market and other times they are nowhere near market value. In our case its fairly close but a bit on the low side. Personally I wish it was lower - we have no plans to sell so no need to try to determine current value, and the lower the value the more we can save every year.

Some of the new infills near downtown must have pretty high assessed values, Ive seen some on the market lately for $800k and up

Either way - best of luck in the process and please do post results

[Bill Bumface]

^Even if you do plan to sell, a low City assessment makes a property more desirable.

I bought my place just over 4 years ago, and it's assessment was really low, which was a selling feature.

The City figured it out, and my taxes are now $1200 a year higher than when I bought it

[Wastedyouth]

Originally Posted by me_dennis

I did a quick search, and didn't find any threads on this topic.

Everyone should have gotten their 2014 Property Assessment by now. I just got mine last night. I was surprised to see that my assessed value is $90,000 more than what we paid for the house in December 2013.

I plan on appealing this assessment, and I have until March to do it.

Has anyone ever appealed their property assessment before? If so, what sort of information did you have to provide? If I were to just submit the purchase contract, with the price and date, would that suffice? Or would I need to get an appraisal from the bank or contact a realtor to do a Comparative Market Analysis, or something similar? From what I understand, I just need to prove to the assessor what the fair market value of my home is. I would think that since my house is the most recently purchased house on my block, that would be the best indicator of "fair market value".

Any tips would be appreciated!

Thanks.

Spend 350 and get your own property evaluation from a 3rd party.